Palm Branches, Pussy Willows, Boxwood and More

Pope Benedict with palm branches familiar to us

Boxwood "palm" branches on a pole

Pussy willows on Palm Sunday

It is a common mistake of mine.  I assume the way we in Wisconsin do things now (or did those things in the early years of my life) must be the way they are/were done in the European countries so many of our ancestors came from.  I remember my Palm Sundays, standing in church while the Priest said prayers of blessing over the palm branch I held tightly.  My palm branch looked just like the one carried by Pope Benedict in the picture above.  When I came home, my mother showed me how to braid (I am still not good at this) or curl the fronds.  The branch was placed behind the crucifix on my bedroom wall, to be replaced in one year by a new one.  End of story.

So  I had no plan to do a blog post about Palm Sunday because I assumed most readers would have a familiarity with such a palm branch.   Then I had an e-mail from a friend who lives in France near the German border.  She told me that her youngest granddaughter, who is five+, was anxiously looking forward to her first Palm Sunday service, which she would attend with her aunt. My friend said she herself was planning to spend the day before Palm Sunday with her granddaughter whom she loves dearly.  She would take her some boxwood from her own yard.  Obviously this was a different experience than the one which a child in an American Catholic Church would have.

A French website was able to shine some light on the use of palms versus boxwood:

The Gospel of St. Matthew says that the disciples were cutting branches from the trees and strewed the road (Mt. 21/8). These branches were probably olive branches.  Species of tree branches used today are varied. Palm branches are carried in processions in some regions like the southern provinces of Spain and those of Portugal. In most French departments, they have been replaced by boxwood.  In some, like Provence, the branches of laurel and olive trees are carried.  They use olive branches in Italy and parts of Spain. In England, they carry goat willow; in Holland, holly.  In Poland willow twigs symbolize rebirth and resurrection. Germany and Alsace often form a plant which is on a wooden rod adorned with boxwood and/or other branches and decorations.

It became clear to me that many people who come to church on Palm Sunday already have their hosanna branch, whatever the type, firmly in hand.

That brought into question what people in the land of my ancestors did with their "palms" after they were blessed.  A book with the title (translated) "Stories and Legends from the Saar and Mosel" by Josef Ollinger answered that question in more ways than I had ever thought possible.  Most of these beliefs and customs were from olden times in the small country villages.

The blessed branches were a  protection against sickness, crop failure, and disaster and were reverenced in many ways during the course of a year.  Villagers in farming communities in the Mosel and Saar would make use of the pieces/ twigs of the blessed branches, possibly on the same day that the "palm" branches had been blessed:

*A piece was placed over the house door to protect the family.

*Each crucifix in the home had a piece of the "palm" branch behind it to protect the house from sickness and disaster.

*The small holy water founts in each room held a little piece of a "palm" branch.

*Another small piece was taken to the cellar to prevent spoilage of the vegetables that were kept there.

*In the stable, the stalls of the animals had pieces of "palm" to protect them from sickness.

*The part of the barn where equipment was kept and the grains were stored received a piece of "palm" branch to protect from lightening and fire.

*A part of the blessed "palm" was burned in in the oven so that the smoke going to heaven would protect the house from lightening.

*A piece of palm was inserted in each field in the land belonging to the farmer, in order to beg God to give a good harvest.

*Young men put a piece of "palm" on their hat;s young girls wore a piece at their breast.  The author doesn't say this, but it seems that palms might have been considered a help in finding a sweetheart.  It also occurs to me that a sprig of boxwood or pussy willow would be the most attractive form of "palm" to wear.

*It was believed that if a "palm" leaf was chewed and swallowed, it would protect against a fever.

*When someone died, the hands of the deceased were folded holding a rosary and a "palm" branch.

*In the cemetery, if the grave had a holy water holder to bless the grave of the deceased, a piece of blessed "palm" would be included.

Some might call all of these customs mere superstitions of an uneducated class of people.  To me it shows the humility of people close to the earth and aware of their dependence on something much greater than themselves.

Sources:
http://92.catholique.fr/faq/fetes_rameaux_liturgie.htm
Ollinger, Josef, "Geschichten und Sagen von Saar und Mosel, CONTE Verlag, 2005

Fastnachtzeit and Karwoche

Various kinds of Raspeln

My very first post to this blog in 2005 was about the Easter customs in small villages in the Hunsruck.  But I've learned that the season leading up to Easter deserves mention as well.  Here are some bits and pieces.

The Rheinlanders of today are still known for their Karneval celebrations which have the flavor of  Mardi Gras.  This was also true in earlier centuries.  Karneval can be traced back to pagan Roman festivals.  That may explain why Köln, Mainz, and Trier, which are ancient cities with Roman history, go all out for their carnivals on the Monday and Tuesday before Lent begins. 

In the Middle Ages, Karneval gave the people a break from the tightly structured class system, as they were able to hide their social background behind imaginative masks and costumes. Poor people were able to mix with all other levels of society and share the celebration with them. In those days people would dress up as knights, damsels and even priests as a way of poking fun of them. In a similar way, people these days sometimes wear masks which make fun of well-known politicians or celebrities.

In the small villages, the two days before the beginning of Lent or the Fastnachtzeit were celebrated in a variety of ways.  For instance, on the Monday before Lent, Rosenmontag, in the Hunsruck villages of Kreis Saarburg, the mothers baked special little Küchlein on the Monday before Easter.   These were round or longish raised cakes similar to our doughnuts.  They were made of flour, egg, a little sugar, and yeast.  When the dough had risen, each doughnut/cake was fried in an iron pot in extremely hot oil.   After the typical Rosenmontag meal of potato soup, the boys in each household would spear a Küchlein with a sharp stick.  Pulling on a stocking cap and a mask, they went from house to house with their spears, asking for eggs and ham.    

On the Tuesday before Lent (Fastnachtsdienstag), in many of the small Hunsruck villages, one would probably find the Fastnachtsbären, the "Mardi Gras" bear.  One or two young men were wrapped in straw.  After they put on bear-head masks, they were chained or tied together and led around the village by their keepers.  The straw bears growled and danced to the tinny sound of tambourines. The bears pranced their way to each house door and growled ferociously until their "keepers" were given ham, eggs or money.  Later there was a happy celebration by the bears and their keepers in the local Wirtshaus.

Lent began with fasting toward the end of winter.  When the farmers in Kreis Saarburg began their spring farm work, it was the sign that Karwoche, the solemn week leading up to Easter was not far away.  This special week of preparation before Easter was filled with religious customs, many from medieval times.

"Kar" comes from Old High German word "kara" meaning grief, complain or grieve.  Thus it was a week to meditate on the events leading up to Good Friday, called Karfreitag in German. The customs of the week, some with a history going back to the Middle Ages, were meant to symbolize the inner grieving for Christ as he came closer and closer to his crucifixion and death.

In Catholic services, one of the signs of mourning for the suffering and death of Christ was (and still is) the cessation of the use of any kind of musical instrument or any bells on Gründonnerstag,  Holy Thursday.  After the organ and choir performed the Latin "Gloria" of the mass, the choir sang a capella and the organ and bells were silent until Easter Sunday.  

Thus in Kreis Saarburg, during processions and at mass, Kleppern or Raspeln took the place of the bells from Karfreitag on.   Instead of tolling the bell, altar boys with wooden ratchets or clappers walked through the streets or from house to house, usually in procession, reminding people of the solemnity of the day.  There sounds were also a substitute for the ringing of the church bells for the Angelus at six a.m, noon, and six p.m.  

Some historians believe that the Kleppern and Raspeln were used in pre-Christian times to scare away the ghosts of winter in order to make way for the spring season. 

Ewald Meier, the author of the book "Irsch/Saar: Geschichte eines Dorfes" demonstrated one of the Raspeln for me when we visited the village museum in Zerf.  There should never be one unceasing sound for the Raspel, Ewald said, but rather a rhythmic tempo.  Ewald described his particular style as this: rum-pause-rum-pause-rum rum rum.  A boy beside him might use another rhythm, those coming behind chose distinctive rhythms as well.  There was quite a noise as several boys walked the streets of the village together, performing their Karwoche duty.   

Finally it was Easter Sunday.  The Hunsruck area Easter customs can be found in my blog post about Easter in the Hunsruck.  

Other sources:
www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au/la/lote/german/links/topics/karneval.htm

http://www.german-easter-holiday.com/

Christiane Becker.  Die Hunsrücker Küche.  

When Life Began

In my last post, I wrote about some of the Normandy/Kreis Saarburg customs and superstitions at the end of life. At the beginning of life, there were also unfamiliar customs which were observed and firmly held superstitions which are little known in our own day.

The book I'm using to describe birth customs, LA NORMANDIE, is the one I used in the last post. In detail, it describes the life of a woman of Normandy from the time she conceived a child until a few weeks after the birth. Since death and burial customs were so similar in Normandy and Kreis Saarburg, I believe the same must be true for the pregnancy and birth stage of life.

In Normandy, and probably in Kreis Saarburg, the pregnant woman had to be extremely cautious for the months that she carried her child in her womb. Dangers were difficult to avoid if the the old wives' tales were believed.

What were these beliefs? Here is a sample:

*Don’t look at ugly things. If you look at the lame, the hunchback, the dwarf, or anyone with a disfigurement, then your newborn may be disfigured or have physical deformities. Try to look only at beautiful people." This superstition, according to the LA NORMANDIE's author, Hippolyte Gancel, often caused marital jealousy. (And pity the woman who had an ugly husband)

*Have nothing to do with the itinerants who come with bears, monkeys, apes or other hairy beasts.

*Avoid hare and fish or the child may have a harelip or brain deformities.

*Do not to look on the dead, sit up with the dead, or sprinkle the dead person with holy water so that your child will not be born dead.

*Do not raise yours arms too often or the umbilical cord may wrap around the baby's neck and strangle it at birth, nor should you hold a child on your lap.

*You must not give in to any intense craving for berries (strawberries, currants, raspberries) or the child will have a birthmark on its body.

At the first labor pains, the midwife was called. Doctors were only called in case of disaster, and probably they were not available at all in the small villages. Upon arriving the midwife started the heating of a generous quantity of water at the fireplace. She pushed the men, young children, and even the husband out of the room. Pious figures were hung where they could be seen from the laboring woman's bed.

The mother did not usually give birth in bed but on a table which was covered with hemp sacking cloth that was placed near the fireplace. Or the woman might sit at the foot of the bed for the delivery.

Immediately after the birth and the announcement of the sex, the midwife separated the infant from the mother and cut the umbilical cord. When the placenta was expelled, the cord and placenta were buried, often at the foot of a rosebush. In Normandy, noted for its dairy products, the new child was rubbed with fresh butter. One or two drops of the mother's first milk were placed on the baby's eyes to prevent opthalmia. If the baby was a girl, her nipples were pinched so that when she became a mother, she would be able to nurse her baby without difficulty. The mother was helped into her bed and the baby was placed in a basket or a cradle. The cradle was usually lined with a sack filled with the hulls of oats. The baby, most often, was wrapped in linen in the fashion of a mummy to protect against colic and deformed legs. It received only sugar water the first day or two after birth. Then it was nursed. Cradle confinement went on for 10-12 months, with the baby being taken from the cradle only three times a day unless there was a grandmother living with the family.

After the birth, by Catholic Church decree, the new mother was forbidden many activities for about three weeks. However cleaners and housemaids were allowed to work sooner - in nine days. During this time, the woman was judged impure and could not show herself in public. She did not cut bread since it was believed it would not last if she touched it. She could not handle the milk because it would turn sour. She could not touch any meat for fear it would spoil. She could not pull water from the well because the water might become contaminated.

Finally the woman was allowed back into society after a ceremony of ritual cleansing, called churching. In Normandy the mother, accompanied by the midwife, went to the church for the act of purification. The midwife brought a loaf of bread that she had made especially for the occasion. The mother knelt in the last pew. There was a “low mass” and then the priest performed the churching ritual. After he blessed the mother, he blessed the bread and took off the first small piece. Some of the blessed bread was given to family and friends who were present. A small piece was kept forever; supposedly that piece would never mold.

The idea of women being thought "unclean" until purified may seem discriminatory and sexist to those of us born in later centuries. But the superstitions and the church ceremony probably helped mothers regain much needed strength before they returned to house and field work. In the book "German Women in the Nineteenth Century," W.R. Lee cites statistics to show that infant mortality was highest in those area where the mothers returned to agricultural labor within days after birth. Breast feeding when the mother was engaged in field work was sporadic at best. Yet breast feeding was far healthier for the infant than a diet of unpasteurized cow's milk. In addition, infants often were brought to the fields while the mother worked, whatever the weather conditions might be. Even three weeks at home, restricted to quiet activities, was a help to both mother and child.

And now to my own mother's belief in one of these Normandy superstitions. Mom had been told that one should not look at unpleasant things while she was pregnant. So she took special care to avoid a particular man in our tiny Wisconsin village. This man, "Little Mike," was a little person who in those days was called a midget. One day, as Mom went up the concrete steps of the town's general store, Little Mike came out of the store and moved directly into her path. Of course, she had to look at him. Many years later, she confessed to me how silly she felt because she had believed that superstition. She laughed as she explained how she unwrapped my blanket fearfully in those first moments that she held me in her arms. She had to see how long my legs were.

Just to satisfy your curiosity, I am 5' 6" tall - but I do have rather short legs!

Sources:
GERMAN WOMEN IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY, edited by John C. Fout, c.1984.
LA NORMANDIE: LA VIE QUOTIDIENNE DES NORMANDS, by Hippolyte Gancel, n.d.